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I'm Ana, a former architect from Porto, Portugal, now deeply in love with contemporary jewelry.Here I share fragments of my life, work and many sources of inspiration. Welcome, grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine!) and stay for as long as you like.

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Today I will talk for a while with the Portuguese architect and illustrator Daniel Moreira.
Born in Switzerland, but in love with Porto, the city where he lives and works, Daniel creates mysterious characters in a personal and introspective style that reflects his own personality.
Also interested in photography and art installation, Daniel finds in drawing his form of expression of choice, and works to create a little every day... read and be inspired!

Don't forget that in the end you'll get to know how to participate in this week's giveaway: Daniel is offering to one of my readers a beautiful original linoleum print... don't miss the unique opportunity to become the lucky winner!

[This post belongs to the weekly feature {the interview series} where I publish a new interview every wednesday with inspiring artists and bloggers I admire, according to the spirit of handmade and a creative lifestyle. Become a facebook fan and don't miss a bit!]

1.Let’s pretend we don’t know each other and I’ve never heard about Daniel Moreira. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Daniel. I’m an architect and illustrator. I was born in Switzerland and I’m living in Porto, Portugal.

I’m a quiet boy, easily distracted and disconnected from what’s around me. I’m a dreamer and like to create my own stories.

2. You have an architecture degree but work mainly as an illustrator. How was this creative passion born and which path lead you here?

When I finished my degree I started a multidisciplinary path between architecture and art. Illustration happened almost by chance a bit later. I entered an illustration contest in which I had won the 2nd prize the year before and was selected once again. This contest had been organized with an illustration agency that organized a catalog and an exhibition with all the selected artists and some illustrators from the agency. It was through the catalog and this agency that I got my first invitation from a renowned Portuguese newspaper (Expresso) to create an illustration for one of their editions. It was my first job as an illustrator and the beginning of my career as an illustrator.

3. You create mysterious human characters in a personal introspective style, sometimes combined with natural, geometric or fluid elements. How are these compositions born? What inspires you? Share your creative process with us.

I think my work is very personal and reflects my personality, that’s why I create these introspective and mysterious characters.

When I hold my pencil and a white paper I never know what I’m going to draw, the characters emerge naturally as all the natural and geometric elements that many times are associated with those characters.

I don’t think in what I’m going to do or in what I’m doing… I’m guided by the movement of my hand.

4. You like to create mixed media compositions, combining the grey of graphite with the color of watercolor or paint. Why do you prefer to use these mediums?

All my illustrations era made by hand, almost always quick drawings with an expressive line and sober colours. I believe that the manual artistic creation is the real art and the one that fits the best with what I feel.

6.Tell us now about your photographic work. What do you like to observe behind the camera?

Many times I have the need to get out of the house and walk. I always take one of my cameras on these walks around the city with no specific destination. I look for unfamiliar places searching new stories that later become my own.

7. You have a recognizable style and through your work your name travels all around the world! What means do you use to promote it?

For a long time I worked only for me, it was a need until the moment when I thought that for my work to grow it had to be shown. I had to know how people would react to it.

It was then that I decided to enter and show my work in biennales and competitions of art and photography.

After that I created my blog Lábios Mudos to promote my most personal work, my projects, exhibitions and events.

Sometime after I created my store in Etsy and in other websites like Behance and Cargocollective and that was when my work started to have more visibility.

My most recent project it’s called Daniel Moreira Project in Facebook. Every day I post something that I did on that day. It has everything from drawings to photography and paintings. I chose to post in a social network because people have the habit to go to Facebook every day and I thought it would be a way to present my work to everyone that enjoys art and give them the opportunity to follow some of my work on a daily basis.

8. Would you share with us a regular day at work?

I can never predict how my day will be. It depends in how I feel and the work I have to do or the deadlines I have.

Recently an usual day starts looking my emails, updating my blog and my online store and then I dedicate to my drawings with my pencils, watercolours, paints, papers and music.

9. Would you give us a glimpse of your working space? Describe it and tell us what you love most about it.

My workspace is very simple, organized and with a lot of natural light, although I work a lot at night.

I like to keep everything in boxes and to keep on top of my desk only the necessary. Although I try to have my desk as clean as possible I’m surrounded by books, cameras, antiques that I collect and artwork from other artists and my own obviously.

10. Share your passions and hobbies with us.

I like to walk without a destination, photograph what it’s not to be photographed, draw for the pleasure of creating something that is mine, wander in antiques’ fairs looking for something that I don’t really know what it is, travel to improbable places and discover new passions.

11. You were born in Switzerland, but now live in Porto, Portugal - tell us about what you love most about it. Would you like to live anywhere else one day?

I was born in Switzerland but moved to Portugal when I was 8 months old, so Portugal is my country.

I love Porto, its narrow and winding streets and the architecture. Although being a small city good to know just by walking, many times I’m surprised by a discovery of new places that I didn’t know.

If I had to choose another place to live I would maybe choose Italy.

12. If you could live in any historical era of your choice, what would it be? Why?

That’s an interesting questions, maybe the Renaissance and in Italy for sure.

It was an era of transformation in many areas, being culture one of them.

13. We are both Portuguese, so I don’t resist asking: what are the main problems you face being an artist in our country, Portugal?

It’s not easy living of art in Portugal and only a few can do it.

Being an artist is still not seen as a profession and if some people don’t change their opinion about culture and that it is part of our growth as a human being and therefore the artists and their work have to be respected, it’s really difficult for artists to live in Portugal just with their art.

I don’t mean to say people should give up but the opposite, if we believe in our work we have to fight for it.

14. What advices would you give to someone who would also like to become an illustrator?

15. What are your plans for the future? And your most unrealistic dreams?

I don’t think about the future and in what I would like to have or where I would like to be in a few years because I don’t think that it’s going to influence my options in the present.

I try to do what I like and live each day without thinking about the future but looking to the past and feeling good for what I made and who I am.

Of course I have my dreams but I don’t live obsessed with the idea of getting what I want as quickly as possible as if the world would end tomorrow.

With my choices, good or bad, I define my path that won’t be as linear as a plan but with the hope that naturally some of my dreams will become real.

Now a quick question and answer game so we can find a bit more about you and your tastes!

Tell us one:

book: London Diaries – Daniel Blaufuks

music: Sigur Rós

movie: In The Mood for Love – Kar Way Wong

personality/artist: Leonardo Da Vinci

color: White

object: Old camera

animal: Dog

drink: Martini

food: Olives

season of the year: Autumn

travel destination: Iceland

piece of clothing: Jeans

secret: I can´t say

Thank you for sharing your beautiful artwork with us, Daniel!

And now... the giveaway you're all waiting for: Daniel is offering to one of you an original linoleum print... here are the details:

giveaway time!

You have the chance to win "Wild Boy" an original linoleum print, numbered, dated and signed by the artist, evaluated in $25!This is an exclusive print from a limited edition of 10, printed in A4 size (21x29,7 cm).

Each one is unique due to the handmade process behind its creation. The prints were designed, carved and printed by Daniel Moreira using the technique of linoleum print (water linograf ink and watercolor on paper).

So... what do you have to do?+ just leave a comment bellow!+ you can have an extra chance to win by becoming a facebook fan of {the interview series}...+ ... and you can have a second extra chance to win by becoming a facebook fan of Daniel Moreira Project.

Please, don't forget to let me know if you're a fan in your comment bellow so it can count for the giveaway, otherwise I will miss it.The lucky winner will be announced on wednesday next week (June 6th) and contacted by email, so don't forget to also leave your name and contact. Good luck!

UPDATE:We had 45 entries in this giveaway! The winner was picked using random.org.The lucky winner is the number 13... congratulations Adriana! I'll be contacting you soon, I'm sure your prize will add joy to your walls!Thank
you so much to all participants and new followers - not only for participating, but also
for your kind words about the interview series and Daniel's work!